Hayden Hurst, 24, is going pro and his father, Jerry Hurst, hopes his son gets drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers next April.

Although that’s considered heresy in a town that flaunts teal and gold, Hurst the father was born in Pittsburgh and lived there until his father was transferred to Jacksonville. “I bleed black and gold!” the San Jose resident exclaimed.

His son, Hayden, graduated in 2012 from The Bolles School, where he played baseball. After turning down a baseball scholarship at Florida State, he was drafted out of high school and signed to play baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their minor league system.

“He wasn’t having much success, so he ‘retired from baseball and went to the University of South Carolina to play football in 2015,” said Hurst, who is also a Bolles alum and a former Jacksonville University baseball player.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pound Hayden is a junior at USC, where he is a tight end for the Gamecocks football team. Hayden decided to skip his final year of eligibility with his college team to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Prior to making his decision in early December, Hayden was named First-Team All-Southeastern Conference, just one of three tight ends in USC history with more than 1,000 career yards receiving.

A semi-finalist for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s top tight end, Hayden could be as high as a second-round draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft.